News
9 February, 2025
Jinibara lands $250k grant to grow education
The Jinibara Peoples Aboriginal Corporation (JPAC) have, for the first time ever, received $250,000 in State Government funding for their Jinibara Landcare Program in and around Woodford, as part of the latest round of the Indigenous Workforce and Skills Development Grant.
This grant will provide the opportunity for up to 45 Jinibara community members to acquire a nationally recognised qualification in either of the Cert III offerings (Cert III in Indigenous Cultural Heritage Assessment, Cert III in On Country Management, and Cert III in Conservation and Ecosystem Management), in a program uniquely tailored to encompass Jinibara traditional practices, customs, and knowledge, with the mentoring and support of Jinibara elders on Jinibara Country.
The JPAC hopes this qualification will not only provide a career pathway for participants but will also add broader value to the community by preserving traditional culture through a deeper understanding of past and present practices, with more formalised education.
JPAC Chairman, Uncle Colin Ross, said he sees the purpose of the grant as building their ranger workforce to sustain employment across the region.
“It will provide on-the-job, practical training, with an element of academic study, that will raise confidence, awareness, and natural abilities of our rangers,” he said. “I hope through the support of mentorships, it will strengthen their resolve to learn and shape a career pathway for the future, and create an overall strong ‘Jinibara Healthy Country Plan’, for Jinibara People and the broader community.”
JPAC Program Manager, Megan Harkin, said a key objective of JPAC is “to develop and oversee activities that benefit the Jinibara people”.
“These qualifications are recognised nationally and will provide our employees with deserved recognition of their knowledge and abilities in these fields, allowing them to leverage their careers through experience on and off Jinibara Country,” she said.
“The opportunity for these qualifications will also encourage other Jinibara community members to engage with JPAC and the work that we are doing, with a view to increasing participation in our established work programs.”
According to Ms Harkin, this training will also benefit the broader Woodford community, as it allows Jinibara people interested in skilled jobs to work as Traditional Custodians, which in turn educates local people and protects important places of cultural and ecological value.
“The care for Country is good for the entire community and working with our key stakeholders allows us to ‘share the load’ in protecting our environment for future generations,” she said.
“We are hoping the success of this project will allow us to expand our current programs and allow JPAC to further contribute to the local economy through increased employment and tourism.”
JPAC Rangers undertake a variety of activities on Jinibara Country independently and with stakeholders – including water quality monitoring, endangered species monitoring, re-vegetation, weed and pest monitoring, koala monitoring, cultural burns, landscaping, and horticulture, and more.
